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“What did you just say?” I demand. She sighs and runs her hand through her shoulder-length hair.
“Just be careful, please. Keep one eye over your shoulder at all times.”
Before I can say anything else, she pats me on the arm and leaves my room. Long after she’s gone, her words are still ringing in my head.
It soundedexactlylike one of the threatening notes that was left for me in the woods. Word for word. I thought it was Thali that left those for me… but maybe it wasn’t. I shake my head, trying to dismiss the thought. Riya wouldn’t do something like that. She has no reason to, not when she clearly has no problem confronting me and speaking her mind.
As I change into my night clothes, I can’t stop thinking about what she said. For some reason, the whole thing just feels wrong. I don’t want to think about my best friend like this.
When I slide under the covers, I decide not to fall asleep with this on my mind. I’m a firm believer in not going to bed upset. Instead, I let my thoughts drift to Thali without letting myself think about the fact that he’s a dark elf who I should be absolutely nowhere near.
Something about him just draws me in, and I crave the danger he brings me. His presence has always been so magnetizing, even before I met him when I only knew him from the gifts he left. Something made me keep going back for more.
My heart races as I picture his face. Gods, he’s the most attractive male I’ve ever come across. No one even compares.
I picture his bright silver eyes and the way they change into a dark gray when he’s angry. The thrill his anger gives me is hypnotizing. I wish he was here right now, whispering all the things he wants to do to me, just the way he was earlier.
The thing is, I know that I would let him do anything to me. Everything. But does that make me just as bad as him?
22
BRIELLE
It’s been five days since the confrontation with Riya… and five days since I’ve seen Thali. To say I’ve been going out of my fucking mind is an understatement.
The first day was a struggle. I was still so on edge from being teased mercilessly by Thali, and all I wanted was his hands all over me, him whispering in my ear. I would’ve done anything to have him visit me.
On top of that, I was avoiding Riya as much as I could. I hadn’t been ready to see her yet. Not when my suspicions kept replaying in my head over and over again, along with her words that made my blood run cold.
On the second day, I tried not to think about either of them. I buried myself in work at the factory and even stayed late just to keep myself distracted. By the time I got home, I was so tired that I just passed out without even eating dinner.
On the third day, I was feeling the effects of working so hard the day before along with not eating, and I was half dead all day. I barely remembered my day at the factory, or how I walked home. But at least I wasn’t thinking about either of my very big, daunting problems.
By day four, my distraction techniques were no longer working. All I could think about was whether or not Riya was the one who left those notes or not. It was all I could do to stop myself from running down the hall to her room and demanding she tell me. But if it wasn’t her, then charging in there would only raise more questions from her that I can’t nor do I want to answer.
Then there was Thali, of course. I woke up thinking about the way his teeth felt tugging at my earlobe, his tongue swiping seductively against the hurt. And that led to more thoughts about what those teeth would feel like elsewhere, what his tongue would do to me. On the fifth day, it was all I cared about.
Finally, I’ve had enough. Or at least, I can’t just sit still anymore. After cleaning up from my day at the factory, I tug on a mid-length, plain white dress and slip out of the dorm, still avoiding Riya.
I haven’t been back to the woods since I begrudgingly left Thali in them. It’s not like Riya’s words really got to me, but I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Plus, I’m sure she’s just been waiting for me to return to them so that she can catch me in the act.
I can’t stay away any longer, though. I don’t know why Thali has stayed away for five days, and I don’t really care… except that I do. It’s the reason I’m out here. A part of me wants to walk into that clearing and find one of his gifts. I’ve come to love and adore those gifts. I miss those gifts, more than I’d like to admit.
Maybe he’s stayed away because I haven’t returned to these woods. Maybe he’s been waiting for me.
Something tells me this isn’t true. Waiting around for me to act isn’t really Thali’s style. He does what he wants, takes what he wants, and doesn’t apologize or care what anyone has to say about it. So does that mean he no longer wants me? And why does that create such an impossible ache in my chest at the thought?
I don’t care. I just keep walking through the trees, stepping over twigs and trying not to trip and get a face full of mud. Riya would surely see me coming back like that and get mad at me for not heeding her warning about taking her with me the next time I ventured out here. And I don’t know if I could keep my questions to myself if that happened.
I know that Riya’s constant worrying about me comes from a good place. For years, she’s been all I had, and I’ve been all she’s had. We’ve been each other’s rocks. She’s family.
We stick together, and we tell each other everything. Every horrible day, every terrifying dark elf encounter. Every insecurity or fear. She knows more about me than anyone else I’ve ever known.
That’s why keeping all these secrets from her is killing me. She doesn’t deserve this, not after everything she’s done for me over the years.
I just hope she can forgive me when she inevitably finds out the truth. Or when I never see Thali again and I’m forced to cry into her shoulder about it. Will she hate me? Will she see this as a betrayal of our friendship? Or will she put her feelings aside and comfort me?
Hopefully, I don’t ever have to find out. I couldn’t handle losing her. I’ve already lost so much.
